Machine for compacting and binding coils



United States Patent Inventor Appl. No.

Filed Patented Assignee Priority MACHINE FOR COMPACTING AND BINDING COILS Jean E. Glasson Argenteuil, France 809,769

Mar. 24, 1969 Dec. 22, 1970 Botalam Paris, France a corporation of France Apr. 1, 1968 France 2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

Primary Examiner-Billy J. Wilhite Attorney- Woodhams, Blanchard and Flynn ABSTRACT: A machine for compacting and binding coil: having a stationary frame with a compacting carriage capable of longitudinal displacement being mounted at one end of the frame, the carriage being rigidly fixed to coil-receiving cradle. A binding unit is disposed at the other end of the frame and has a mandrel for receiving the coils. The machine further includes means for supplying a binding wire, and includes twisting heads and passages for guiding the wire. Driving means are provided for displacing the compacting carriage toward the binding unit in order to pass the coils over the mandrel and then to compact the coils, whereby a tight bond is formed around the coils thus compacted.

PATENTED UEC22 I976 SHEET 1 UF 5 PATENTED 05022 1970 SHEETv 3 BF 5 ATENTEU 052221970 saw 4 [1F 5 O mum w Mo 9 mm W 3 mo w NM v 7 kw N hm H M. MM. Q: m A m% o .10

mourns ron coMPAcrnvc AND smnmc cons The present invention relates to a machinefor compacting and binding coils and is more especially related to a machine which serves to compress and bind the coilsof wire which are supplied by steel works.

At the present time, the operations involved in compacting and binding coils are carried out by hand in the majority of cases and this results in a considerable loss of time as well as high labor cost. Automatic machines for carrying out these operations are also known but have fairly low speeds and do not permit an output rate of the high order which is compatible with the production of modern steel works, so that machines of thistype are not economic from an industrial viewpoint.

The main object of the present invention is to circumvent the disadvantages noted above and is accordingly directed to a coil-compacting and binding machine which essentially comprises a stationary frame of elongatedshape, a compacting carriage capable-of longitudinal displacement at one end of said frame and rigidly fixed to a receiving cradleontowhich the coils are brought by means of a conveyor, a binding unit disposed at the other end of the frame and comprising a mandrel for receiving the coils, means for supplying binding wire, twisting heads and wire guide passages which are placed partly on the periphery of the mandrel and partly on supports placed around the mandrel at a predetermined distance therefrom, driving means advantageously consisting of a hydraulic jack for displacing the compacting carriage towards the binding unit in order to pass the coils over the mandrel and then to compact said coils, and means for operating the binding unit in order to form a tight bond around the coils thus compacted.

It will be readily understood that a machine of thistype makes it possible to process the successive coils deliveredby the conveyor at a very high speed. This machine can therefore follow the production rate of the rolling mills and can thus prevent any interruption in the operation of the steel works.

The compacting carriage preferably comprises a central recess in which the mandrel is inserted during the compacting operation as well as a plurality of slots across whichthe wire guide passages are closed during the binding operation.

By virtue of this arrangement, the machine is capable of compacting and binding much larger coils or stacks of coils.

A clear understanding of the invention will in any case be obtained by consideration of the following. description, reference being inade'to one exemplified embodiment which is shown without any implied limitation in the accompanying drawings, wherein; I

FIG. 1 is-a simplified general view in perspective showing a coil-compacting and binding machine in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a simplified longitudinal sectional view of the said machine;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken alongline V-V of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 5.

The coil-compacting and binding machine which is illustrated in the FIGS. first comprises a stationary frame 1 of elongated shape on which are mounted the different components of said machine. A movable compacting carriage 2 is disposed at one end of said frame whilst a binding unit 3 is mounted at the other end.

The movable carriage 2 is capable of longitudinal displacement relative to the frame 1 by virtue of four grooved wheels 4 which are adapted to run between two lower guide rails 5 and two upper guide rails 6. Displacement of the carriage is carried out by means of a hydraulic jack 7 which is secured to the frame by means of a pivot pin 8, the end of the operating rod 9 of said jack being pivotally attached to the carriage at 10.

The front portion of the carriage 2, namely the portion which is directed towards the binding unit 3, essentially consistsof a receiving cradle 11 on which the coils 12 to be processed are deposited by an overhead conveyor with suspension hooks (not shown in the drawings). Said receiving cradle is pivoted about a longitudinal shafi 13 relative to the carriage and can thus swing to one side under the action of one or a number of jacks such as the jack 14 towards a sloping surface 15 for the discharge of processed coils. Provision is also made at the end of the cradle llfor a retaining lug 16 which is intended to facilitate the extraction of the processed coils from the binding unit 3 as will be explained hereinafter.

The rear portion of the carriage 2 which constitutes the coilcompacting unit proper comprises a central recess 17 of circular shape which is shown in FIG. 4; Said recess 17 is adapted to communicate with the exterior by means of four longitudinal slots 18 which are uniformly disposed crosswise at to each other and the design function of which .will become apparent from the remainder of the description. A longitudinal slot 19 which extends over the entire length of the carriage is also provided at the top portion of this latter in order to permit the insertion of the conveyor hooks. 4

The binding unit 3 comprises-firstly'a central mandrel 20 which is provided for the purpose of receiving the coils l2 and which is located in alignment with the recess 17 of the compacting carriage 2. In fact, said" mandrel 20 is designed to penetrate into the interior of the recess .17 when the carriage advances towards the binding unit. Channels 21 are formed along the periphery of the mandrel and are uniformly disposed crosswise at 90 to each other. Said channels are located opposite to the slots 18 of the carriage when this latter surrounds cally at 24 in FIG. 4 is placed within each channel 21 of the mandrel 20. Similarly, each channel 23 contains a similar guide passage represented diagrammatically by the reference numeral 25. More precisely, each passage 24 constitutes in conjunction with the oppositely-facing passage 25 a complete guide passage as illustrated in detail in FIG. 5. In this example of construction, there are thus four complete guide passages for the binding wire inasmuch as the. machine has been designed to make four crossed ties at the same time around the coil or stack of coils 12.

One complete guide passage together withits associated components will now be described in greater detail with partieular reference to FIG. 5. Firstly, there are shown in this FIG. two binding shells 26 and 27 provided with grooves 28 and 29 for guiding the wire. Said shells are pivoted about a pin 30 and are capable of opening under the action of jacks (which have not been shown in the drawings). There is mounted on the shell 26 in known manner a shear cutter. 31 which pivots about a pin 32 under the action of a jack 33 whilst a clamping arm 34 is mounted on the shell 27 and pivoted about a pin 35 under the action of a jack 36.

A twisting head 37 of known type is mounted between the two shells 26 and 27 and is associated with means (not shown) for driving said head in rotation and operating its clamping jaws. A forked member 38 which is pivotally mounted on the frame 1 at 39 is additionally provided for the purpose of folding back the two ends of the binding wire once this latter has been finally tied.

The grooves 29 and 28 of the binding shells are extended by the guide passages 24 and 25 proper which are respectively mounted in the channels 21 and 23. Each passage consists of a stationary portion 40 in which is formed a recess 41 of rectangular shape for the binding wire, said recess being normally closed off by means of a complementary movable component 42. The movable component 42 is capable of carrying out a longitudinal pivotal movement with respect to the stationary I portion 40 in order to uncover the recess 41, this movement being performed by means of a plurality of articulation devices, one of which is shown in detail in the sectional view of FIG. 6 and a description of which will now follow.

The portion 40 of the guide pamage is secured to the channel by means of two angle iron members 43 which also carry a spindle 44, a hinge 45 which is rigidly fixed to the movable portion 42 being pivoted about said spindle. The pivotal motion of the movable portion 42 is intended to free the binding wire 46 which is located within the recess 41 and is carried out by means of a jack 47, said jack being mounted on the stationary portion 40 and the jack-operating rod being applied against the hinge 45. Said movable portion 42 is then returned automatically to the position shown in the F16. by means of a restoring spring 48.

The guide passages 24 and 25 are extended respectively by means of two movable crescent-shaped members 49 and 50 in which are formed grooves 51 and 52 for guiding the binding wire. Said two crescent-shaped members are pivoted about pins 53 and 54 within their respective channels under the action of jacks 55 and 56 and are designed to close in juxtaposed relaton across the slots 18 of the compacting carriage 2 in order to form a continuous and closed guide passage for the binding wire.

The binding unit 3 is completed by devices for supplying and storing the binding wire which are shown diagrammatically and respectively at 57 and 53 in FIG. 1, and also comprises known means which have not been shown in the drawings for the purpose of exerting a tractive force on the wire in order to tighten the binding wire around the coils.

A cycle of operation of the coil-compacting and binding machine in accordance with the invention will now be described in order to highlight the inherent advantages of said machine.

At the commencement of the cycle, the compacting carriage 2 is in the retracted position at the end of the frame 1, the shells 26 and 27 are closed, the wire clamps and shear cutters 34 and 41 respectively are open, the recesses 41 of the guide passages 24 and 25 are closed off by the movable portions 42 and the crescent-shaped members 49 and 50 are open.

The overhead conveyor brings a coil or coil stack 12 to be processed onto the receiving cradle 11 and the jack 7 for driv ing the compacting carriage 2 is set in operation. The carriage begins to advance rapidly towards the binding unit 2. During this movement, the coils 12 come into position over the mandrel 20. Thereupon, the pressure applied by the jack increases and the coils are compressed. During the same period of time, the overhead conveyor hook which has retained the coils slides along the slot 19 progressively as the carriage moves forward and is thus released.

The binding cycle can begin again only when the carriage 2 has reached a predetermined position of travel and more precisely when the rear portion of the coils has passed beyond the crescent-shaped members 49 and 50. At this moment, the

jacks 55 and 56 are actuated and the crescent-shaped members and 50 close across the slots 18 of the carriage, thus closing off the four guide passages of the binding unit. A predetermined length of binding wire is then supplied to these four passages in known manner and the clamping arms 34 are actuated by the jacks 36 in order to exert a powerful clamping action on the four ends of the wires. At the same time, the recesses 41 of the stationary portions 40 in which the binding wire 46 is located are freed as a result of the pivotal motion of the movable portions 42 about their shafts 44 under the action of the jacks 47. A high tractive force is then exerted on the four binding wires and, inasmuch as the ends of said wires are securely held by the clamping arms 34, they pass out of the recesses 41 and the grooves 28, 29, 5l:and 52 in order to be firmly applied around the coils,

The binding cycle continues only when the compacting of coils is completed or alternatively when the binding wires are no longer subjected to tractiye forces; the longest of these two operations initiates the continuation of the cycle. The jaws of the twisting heads 37 then exert a powerful clamping force on the two portions of binding wire which are located at the level of said jaws whilst the recesses 41 are again closed off by the movable portions 42 under the action of the restoring springs 48. The clamping arms 34 are then opened and free the end of the wire whilst the shear cutters 31 are actuated by the jacks 33 in order to shear the other end of the wire.

Since both ends of the four binding wires are always held by the jaws of the twisting heads 37, the two shells 26 and 27 are thus opened as well as the crescent-shaped members 49 and 50. The twisting heads are then driven in rotation in order that the two ends of each of the four binding wires should be knotted in known manner, whereupon the clamping jaws of said heads are separated. The two ends of the knots thus formed are then folded back against the coils by means of the forked members 38.

of the cradle 11 and the stack of coils is discharged down the sloping surface 15. As soon as the cradle 11 is released, the conveyor supplies a fresh stack of coils and the cycle is resumed. v

The different operations involved in the cycle of the machine are naturally made completely automatic by means of suitable systems of known type but the invention would be equally applicable to semiautomatic or manually operated machines.

It will in any case be apparent that the embodiment of the invention which has just been described has been given solely by way of nonlimitative example and that any number of modifications may be contemplated without thereby departing either from the scope or the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A machine for compacting and bind coils, characterized in that it comprises a stationary frame, a compacting carriage capable of longitudinal displacement atone end of said frame and rigidly fixed to a coil-receiving cradle, a binding unit disposed at the other end of said frame and comprising a mandrel for receiving coils, means for supplying binding wire, twisting heads and passages for guiding the wire, driving means for displacing the compacting carriage towards the binding unit in order to pass the coils over the mandrel and then to compact said coils, and means for operating the'binding unit in order to form a tight bond around the coils thus compacted.

2. A coil-compacting and bind machine in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the compacting carriage comprises a central recess in which the mandrel is inserted during the compacting operation as well as a plurality of slots across which the wire guide passages are closed during the binding operation. 

